You are here

EU Re-Imposes Sanctions on Bank, Shipping Firms

The European Union re-imposed sanctions on an Iranian bank and 32 Iranian shipping companies on Wednesday, using new legal grounds, after the measures were struck down by a European court.
The EU's second highest court annulled an EU asset freeze on Bank Tejarat and 40 Iranian shipping companies in January, finding fault with the legal grounds given by the EU, Reuters reported.
The EU, as it has done in other cases, responded by re-listing Bank Tejarat and 32 of the Iranian shipping firms using new legal grounds. Eight firms were not put back on the list published in the EU's Official Journal on Wednesday.
The decision comes days after Iran and six major powers reached a framework agreement to end a dispute over Iran's nuclear activities which prompted the sanctions.
The court's rulings were handed down as six major powers and Iran strive to meet an end-June deadline for a long-term agreement to curb Tehran's nuclear activities in exchange for lifting of economic sanctions.
In January, the EU's second-highest court struck down sanctions on the bank and shipping companies hit with asset freezes, but judges gave the EU more than two months to appeal or to decide whether to re-impose sanctions using different legal grounds.
The court ruled that the EU had failed to detail what it says was confidential evidence of the bank’s activities.